Guitar UpscaleDominant 7th Chord (7) on guitar
A dominant 7th chord adds the flat seventh to a major triad. It drives back to the home chord and is the base of the blues.
| Written as | C7 |
|---|---|
| Formula | 1 3 5 b7 |
| Notes in C | C E G Bb |
| Semitones from the root | 0, 4, 7, 10 |
About the Dominant 7th Chord
G7 is G, B, D and F. The 3rd and the 7th form a tritone, a tense interval that resolves into the C chord.
In a major key it sits on the 5th note: G7 in C. A 12 bar blues uses a dominant 7th on all three chords.
Open E7, A7, D7, G7, C7 and B7 shapes are worth learning early.
Intervals
- 1: Root, 0 semitones above the root
- 3: Major 3rd, 4 semitones above the root
- 5: Perfect 5th, 7 semitones above the root
- b7: Minor 7th, 10 semitones above the root
Dominant 7th Chord charts in all 12 keys
Each chart shows the strings from the thick low E on the left to the thin high e on the right. Numbers in the dots are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little, T thumb. × marks a muted string and ○ an open one. A bar across strings is a barre.
C7: C E G Bb
G7: G B D F
D7: D F# A C
A7: A C# E G
E7: E G# B D
B7: B D# F# A
F#7: F# A# C# E
Db7: Db F Ab Cb
Ab7: Ab C Eb Gb
Eb7: Eb G Bb Db
Bb7: Bb D F Ab
F7: F A C Eb
Scales to play over C7
Each of these scales, started on C, holds every note of the chord:
- C Lydian Minor
- C Dominant Pentatonic
- C Mixolydian Mode
- C Phrygian Dominant (Hijaz, Ahava Rabbah)
- C Taishikicho
- C Hungarian Major
- C Hindu (Mixolydian b6)
- C Moorish Phrygian
- C Blues Scale with Both Thirds
- C Chromatic Blues Scale
- C Mixo-Blues Scale
- C Bebop Minor (Bebop Dorian)
- C Bebop Dominant
- C Diminished (Half Whole)
- C Overtone (Lydian Dominant)